We tried tonight (5/2/18) Some New Wines:1. Boveri Derthona Timorasso DOC: ColliTortonesi (14%; ToscoImports) Luigi Boveri/Costa Vescovato 2015: Light gold color; quite fragrant/floral/pear/Viog-like/spicy/peach slight earthy lovely perfumey nose; bit soft some Viog-like/pear/floral/peach blossom/spicy slight perfumed talc lovely flavor; very long pear/floral/Viog-like/perfumey slight earthy finish; a very pretty atypical expression of Timorasso and a bit of a light-weight but quite lovely and a great value at $19.00 (EVN)____________________2. Boveri Timorasso Filari di Timorasso DOC: Colli Tortonesi (14.5%) 2015: Med.light gold color; bit more intense/complex pear/poached pear/some floral/carnations not as Viog-like lovely nose; more tart/tangy rich/lush pear/peach/poached pear some floral/carnations spicy slight graham cracker bit honeyed more depth beautiful flavor; very long/lingering slightly tart fairly rich/lush some graham cracker/angel food cake some pear/peach/poached pear/spicy/floral/carnations complex finish; a more complex and rich/lush complex wine; not as perfumed but more interesting; very good value at $29.00 (EVN)____________________3. Vigneti Masa Derthona Timorasso (13.5%) Monleale/Allessandria 2015: Med.gold color; beautiful very fragrant/spicy/floral/peach blossom slight reduced/pungent bit angel food cake complex nose; lightly tart very rich/lush/mouthfilling very spicy/floral/peach/angel food cake complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering spicy/floral/angel food cake/peach finish that keeps on going; a beautiful expression of Timorasso at a great price. $25.00 (K&L)____________________4. Vigne Marina Coppi Fausto Timorasso DOC: ColliTortonesi (14%; www.TheSortingTable.com) Francesco Bellocchio/Castellania 2013: Med.dark gold color; beautiful quite aromatic floral/spicy/graham cracker/ angel food cake almost R-like slight earthy complex nose; fairly tart/tangy very spicy/floral/graham cracker slight nutty/pungent light earthy flavor; very long/lingering somewhat tart/tangy rather rich/lush strong floral/peach/graham cracker/very spicy complex slight nutty finish; not as fresh as the Massa and showing a bit of aged character like an old Riesling but quite a beautiful/complex expression of Timorasso. $49.00 (KK)____________________5. Tercero Viognier WhiteHawkVnyd/SBC (4 brls; 15 mo. in older Fr.oak; www.TerceroWines.com; 13.5%) LarrySchaffer/SantaYnez 2014: Med.yellow color; quite floral/honeysuckle/Rouss-like bit angel food cake bit spicy quite aromatic attractive nose; slightly soft strong floral/honeysuckle/Rouss-like/spicy slight angel food cake quite pretty flavor; very long floral/honeysuckle/Rouss-like slight pear/Viog bit spicy finish; way far away from DollyParton territory; reminds more of Rouss than Viog but quite a lovely white w/ lots of perfume. $nc (LS)/$30.00____________________6. Tercero MourvedreRose Camp4Vnyd/SBC (14 brls; 4 mo. in older Fr.oak+SS; skin contact: 1 hr; 12.0%) 2017: Pale copper/salmon color; quite perfumed strong cranberry/watermelon slight Mourv/plummy/earthy quite aromatic nose; bit soft slight metallic/tangy bright/cranberry/watermelon/juicy slight earthy/plummy pleasant flavor; med.long bright/cranberry/watermelon/spicy bit plummy/earthy quite perfumey finish w/ light gentle tannins; quite an attractive rose w/ lots of aromatics; would like a bit more acidity. $nc (LS)/$30.00____________________7. Tercero Carignane SBC (6 brls; Aged: 10 mo. in older Fr.oak; 12.1%) 2016: Med.dark color; some earthy/dusty/ bit rustic strong cherry/Carignane/bit spicy slight pencilly/oak attractive nose; some tart/tangy brisk/fresh cherry/Carignane some earthy/dusty bit metallic slight pencilly/oak flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long earthy/dusty strong/bright/cherry/Carignane bit tart light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; shows some of the rustic side of Carignane but quite a pretty/drinkable Carignane in the modern style of Carignane; a bit pricey at $nc (LS)/$35.00____________________8. Tercero Cinsaut SBC (8 brls; Aged: 10 mo. in older Fr.oak; 11.5%) 2016: Med.light color; rather earthy/dusty rustic/cherry/spicy/garrigue bit candied rather attractive/bright nose; lightly tart fairly earthy/dusty/rustic cherry/candied/quite spicy/cinammon light/bright/zippy flavor w/ light brisk tannins; long rather spicy/cinnamon bright/cherry lightly tart balanced somewhat earthy/dusty/rustiv finish w/ light tangy tannins; also shows a bit rustic side but bright/cherry/balanced red; a bit pricey at $nc (LS)/$35.00____________________9. Tercero aberration Camp4Vnyd/SBC (40% Cinsaut/40% Grenache/20% Carignane; 5 brls; Aged: 4 mo. in SS brls; 12.1%) 2017: Med.light color; very fragrant very spicy/cherry/raspberry/strawberry/mostly Grenache very attractive perfumed nose; lightly tart/tangy very spicy/bright/cherry/strawberry/Grenache slight earthy/ rustic flavor w/ light brisk tannins; very long/lingering bright/strawberry/Grenache/cherry/raspberry slight earthy/dusty/rustic bit complex finish w/ light brisk tannins; a very pretty drinkable interesting red that will probably improve in the btl for 4-6 yrs. $nc (LS)/$35.00____________________10.Tercero Syrah LarnerVnyd/BallardCnyn (5 brls; Aged: 34 mo. in older Fr.oak; 60% whole-cluster; 14.6%) 2013: Very dark color; some cedary/pencilly/oak strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/very spicy slight peppery rather aromatic nose; lightly tart some pencilly/cedary/oak strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy slight pungent flavor w/ modest smooth/resolved tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some cedary/pencilly/oak rather spicy/bit peppery finish w/ smooth/graceful tannins; noticible oak but not overdone; quite attractive example of a mature SBC Syrah; my favorite of these Terceros. $nc (LS)/$40.00____________________11. Ampelos Syrah Gamma Sta.RitaHills (14 brls; 14.2%; BioDynamic; www.AmpelosCellars.com) Lompoc 2013: Very dark color; beautiful spicy/c-c/black pepper/blackberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak classic SteRitaHills Syrah nose; rather tart/tangy some c-c/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/spicy/ripe light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; very long/lingering ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some c-c/black pepper light toasty/oak finish w/ light ripe tannins; a pretty classic expression of c-c/StaRitaHills Syrah at a very good price. $31.00 (KK)____________________12. Benevelli Piero Freisa alla mia Gioia DOC: Langhe (13%; KermitLynch) S.Giuseppe/Monforte d'Alba 2015: Med.color; very strong Freisa/strawberry rather earthy/dusty bit Nebb/lilacs-like lovely nose; bit frizzante slightly off-dry very fruity/strawberry/Freisa bit floral/Nebb bright/zippy flavor w/ light bitey/brisk tannins; long bright strawberry/freisa frizzante/off-dry finish w/ light bitey tannins; a very quaffable frivolous Freisa w/ a bit of a serious Nebb side. $22.00 (BWM)____________________13. Harrington Freisa SkowVnyd/SanBenitoCnty (13.2%; www.HarringtonWines.com) 2017: Med.color; very strong bright/strawberry/Freisa/spicy some earthy much more perfumey mre complex nose; lightly tart some earthy strong Freisa/strawberry/spicy bit Italianate/Nebb/lilacs flavor w/ some hard/bitey tannins; very long strong spicy/strawberry/Freisa light earthy/dusty some Nebb/lilacs w/ modest crunchy/brittle tannins; dry and no frizzante; very Italianate in style rather than a Calif tutti-frutti version of Freisa; some like a good Langhe Nebb but more aromatics; needs several yrs; quite an interesting Freisa at a great price. $25.00________________________________________________________________________________More prattlewurst from TheBloodyPulpit:1. Timorasso: This is an old Piemontese variety that was brought back from near-extinction by WalterMassa in the early '90's. Since then, it has mostly been propagated in the Colli Tortonesi near Tortona east of Asti. One of the parents is the Veneto variety Lambruschetto. It had fallen out of favor because yields are low due to asynchronous maturation (uneven ripening within a bunch) and "floral abortion" (lots of flowers don't pollinate in a bunch, leaving lots of shot berries). Picolit was labeled to suffer from "floral abortion", but it was simply that the flowers in Picolit are sterile and it cannot self-polinate. If Timorasso has sterile flowers or just has weak self-pollination, I don't know. Maybe they just need to spray Viagra on the flowers of Timorasso when they pop out. Interestingly, I spotted a rare error in d'Agata's book: he labels Timorasso as a red variety, not white. Of these four, I'd not had the Boveris before. From EnotecaVinoNostro in SanFrancisco. The regular was very perfumey and almost like Viognier in character. The Filari was not quite as perfumey, but more subtle & complex and more interesting. The Massa has always been my gold standard for Timorasso. When I tried the Coppi a few weeks ago, I was mightly impressed and thought it better than the Massas I'd had. But here, side by side, I preferred the Massa. I think the Coppi was showing some age. But both are as fine a Timorasso as you can find. This '15 Massa is sold out at K&L it appears, but available at PrimiVini I see. And back East. But K&L does have some high-end Massa Timorassos at $60/btl and the '16 Petite Timorasso that we'll try soon. FPS has Timorasso in quarantine and not yet released it. SamBilbro/Idlewild and SteveClifton/Palmina are on the fast track I understand to get this plant material. ____________________2. Freisa: Italian name for "strawberry", which describes the usual aromatics of the wines. It is related to Viognier and the Reze grape of the Swiss Valais. From DNA, Nebbiolo X ?? ---> Freisa. Oftentimes in the Piemonte, it is made off-dry and frizzante. ____________________3. SkowVnyd: Here's what Bryan has to say about this vnyd: "As for Skow Vineyard, it is located on the southern floodplain of the Tres Pinos Creek, just about .5 miles southeast of the town of Tres Pinos. The soil is a mix of limestone and granite river stone and sand. The Freisa block rises up slowly to the east to a steep cliff and has many exposed large rounded limestone rocks. Nebbiolo is growing next to the Freisa. Also grown in this vineyard is Montepulciano, Aglianico and Greco di Tufo. It's in a kind of box canyon so a little warmer than my other San Benito sites. I am making the Nebbiolo from the vineyard also but it is going to one of my custom crush clients. As for the Freisa, fifteen year old Cabernet Sauvignon vines were T-budded over to Freisa two years ago. 2016 was the first Freisa harvest. Seems to be a great site for the grape".____________________4. Tercero: The erstwhile wnry of Larry Schaffer. Tasting room in LosOlivos, but wine made in the old Sunstone Wnry south of SantaYnez. These were samples of his new release that he wanted our group to try. I have, of course, followed LarrySchaffer from the very start. Over the last few yrs of trying his wines, I've noted a consistent improvement in his wines. They are not big/dramatic expressions of SBC varietals. They are polished/well-made expressions of the varieties. Terroir?? Beats heck out of me. But they are very well-balanced and great drinking. He would make a better poster-child for the IPoB cabal than many who hang their hat on that flagpole. The Larner Syrah was my favorite of this group, followed by the abberation. The Cinsault was also particular interesting in that it showed the rustic side of Cinsault w/o being overtly coarse, in a very pretty/drinkable package. Good wines & highly recommended. And the tasting room is a hoot to visit.Tom